Homily - First Sunday of Advent

First Sunday of Advent Year C

Jer 33:14–16 1 Thes 3:12–4:2 • Lk 21:25–28, 34–36

I promise!

Dear friends, these are two little words we’ve used a million times before. I promise I’ll call you to get together for lunch. I promise I’ll do my homework. I promise to get those reports in by Friday. I promise I will cut down on sweets and carbs. I promise I ‘ll do my exercises. I promise I’ll love you forever. Promises, promises, promises!

And we like it when people keep their promises. We expect them to. Yet, we know that’s often not the case. Each of us is well aware of and regretful for  the times we have failed to keep our promises, the times we haven’t followed through, the times we have neglected to do what we said we would do, and the times we have betrayed the confidences of others. Yes, promises are quite easy to make, but not always easy to keep.

“The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and Judah.”

We’ve just heard this from today’s first reading. It’s incredible to think that God --- who owes us absolutely nothing would even make promises. God is sovereign. However, our God wants us to know him, to hope and trust in him, to find safety, security and peace in him. Our loving God wants us to understand that we can count on him, not just occasionally, but always.

This weekend, we begin the holy season of Advent. Once again, we await the fulfillment of God’s greatest promise to us --- his complete immersion in our world in the person of Jesus, God who comes to be with us, walk with us, and ultimately save us. This was not God’s first promise. God has made promises through the ages --- from Noah, to Abraham, to Moses, to the prophets --- assuring them of things that he would bring to fulfillment. And it was all leading to the fulfillment of God’s plan in the gift of his Son, all leading to what we are preparing to celebrate in a few weeks’ time.  But God’s promises and plans do not end there -- we also look to the day when Jesus will return to bring to completion what God has prepared for us and all of creation.

You’ll agree with me that we sometimes get God’s promises a little mixed-up. And so, we start believing that God has promised to take all our problems away or that bad things won’t happen to us; we start to believe that God will allow our life to unfold exactly how we want it to unfold and align his “plans” with our “plans”. Dear friends, that’s not what God promises us. We just have to look at the cross to see that true faithfulness does not assure us that life will be easy, or that it will be just what we want.

Today's readings urge us to broaden our concept of God and God's involvement in history. The Scriptures give witness that we sometimes have to pass through periods of doubt to refine our sense of God.



As we journey these four weeks together, let’s reflect more on God’s promises, and rejoice in his greatest promise --- the person of Jesus whom we await. We do not have to wonder whether we can count on God, whether or not we can trust him to keep his promises. But can God count on us?

At the beginning of the new Church year, it’s worthwhile to take a basic Catholic checkup.

When was the last time you made a good confession?

·       Regular confession has always been encouraged by the saints and the great teachers of our faith. It helps us to examine our lives! This coming Wednesday at 7pm, we’ll have 7 priests for our Advent Communal reconciliation service. If you miss out because of other commitments, there are other opportunities here and in our deanery Parishes for this season.

How do you begin and end each day? 

·       Do you start out the day by giving it to God or to your smartphone?

·       Do you start the day by giving thanks or by sighing about all that must be done?

·       Do you end your day by asking God’s forgiveness for all failings and resolving to do better?

What about love of neighbor?

·       Do you look for opportunities to serve?

·       Do you strive to forgive, difficult though it may be – seeking God’s help to do so?

Do you faithfully support your Church, not only financially but also through getting involved?

Have a blessed Advent everyone.